“Understanding what it means to be human — and why it matters”

If you’ve ever wondered what it means to be human, what our purpose is in the world, and why things happen the way they do, you’re not alone. That’s the mission of the Center for Ideas and Society at the University of California, Riverside — to encourage and nurture humanities-related inquiry and discussion.

“The academic disciplines referred to as ‘the humanities’ are often seen as either indulgences or extras in a university setting, which is more likely to be associated with research and innovation in science and technology,” said Georgia Warnke, director of the Center. “Yet the humanities remind us of the point of these endeavors.

“Why try to cure disease unless we think healthy human life has meaning, and where should we seriously explore what that meaning is except in such fields as philosophy, literature and studies of the creative arts?”